


How We Love (A Collection of Drabbles)

by brandnewfashion



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel (Movies), Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Cupcakes, Domesticity, Established Relationship, First Date, Fluff, Getting Together, Inexperienced Tony Stark, M/M, Romance, Wooing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-03-18 17:29:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3577908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandnewfashion/pseuds/brandnewfashion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of short fics originally published on <a href="https://brandnewfashion.tumblr.com">tumblr</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Bit of Romance

**Author's Note:**

> Original prompt from [squeeful](http://brandnewfashion.tumblr.com/post/101058575823/no-ones-ever-done-it-for-him-but-tony-loves): _**"No one's ever done it for him, but Tony loves being the one romanced."**_

Steve’s always admired Tony’s attention to detail for all of the dates the man has planned for his exes, but it isn’t until Steve comes to terms with his own feelings for him that he realizes it’s Tony who always does the romancing. 

It takes Steve a couple of weeks to muster up the courage to finally try to win Tony over, but with the help of Jan, Jarvis, and a couple of relationship advice columns in those trashy magazines that Jess leaves around the mansion, Steve formulates a plan. 

One morning, Tony walks into the kitchen and finds a giant bouquet of flowers at his seat at the table.  To the delight of Steve, as well as the other Avengers, Tony actually  _blushes_.  Tied to the vase is a note indicating that the arrangement is from a “secret admirer.”  Tony brushes it off like it’s nothing, gulps down a shot of espresso, and grabs a bagel before heading to his office.  

Later that night, on the way to his room, Steve passes Tony’s quarters and sees the bouquet on his nightstand.

Steve continues sending Tony gifts throughout the week: a box of chocolate truffles from the gourmet shop across town, a mixtape of his favorite music, and even an obnoxious giant teddy bear.  

Tony tries his best to hide it, but Steve can tell that the man is elated with all of the attention. 

"What’s this?" Tony asks one evening, picking up the tray of homemade cookies on the counter. 

"It appears to be from your secret admirer, Sir," Jarvis says, glancing knowingly at Steve. 

"They aren’t poisoned, are they?" Tony asks, even though he already has a cookie halfway to his mouth. 

"We had Logan check them," Steve says over his paper. 

Tony pops the cookie into his mouth and makes a sound of approval. “I don’t know if I should be flattered they know my favorite foods, or a little creeped out.” 

"Maybe a bit of both?" Steve offers. 

"Hm… maybe."  Tony pops another cookie in his mouth and holds the plate out towards Steve. "Want one?" 

Steve shrugs and takes one for himself: so what if he already ate over a dozen while baking them only a few hours prior?  They were still delicious. 

The gifts continue, until one afternoon where Pepper goes to Tony’s office to inform him that all of Tony’s evening plans were cancelled for a dinner reservation at Tony’s favorite restaurant: a little hole-in-the-wall trattoria in Little Italy. 

"What if they’re a serial killer or something?" Tony asks, straightening his tie in the mirror. 

"Trust me, they aren’t," Pepper assures. 

"Can you go with me to the restaurant just in case?  I could give you a signal if things are going well, and we could come up with another signal if you need to call the police, or—" 

"I don’t think that will be necessary, but sure." 

So Pepper personally escorts Tony to the restaurant situated just two blocks away from the tower.  Pepper is the one that inquiries about the reservation to the maitre d.  And Pepper is the one that guides him through the large dining area to the smaller, secluded corner in the back of the room. 

Pepper is also the one that takes a photo of Tony’s slack-jawed face when Tony sees Steve, dressed to the nines in a dark blue suit, waiting for him at the table.  She pats Tony on the back before making her exit. 

"Steve?" 

"The one and only," Steve replies with a grin.  "Shall we?" he asks, gesturing to the chair he's pulled out for him. 

Tony nods dumbly and sits. 

"I hope you aren’t disappointed," Steve says as he settles in his own chair.  

"Disappointed?!" Tony exclaims, mildly offended. "How could  _you_ be a disappointment?” 

Steve is the one that blushes this time. “I mean, uh… you’re always with such classy, high society people, and—” 

"I just found out that  _Captain America_ has been trying to woo me over the past two weeks,” Tony counters. “I think all of that pales in comparison.” 

So they wine and dine, and share an entire plate of homemade cannolis.  Steve pays for the meal, and afterwards, they walk around the city before Steve drives them home on his motorcycle.  

"Thank you," Tony says when they get to the communal floor of the tower. "No one’s ever…" He ducks his head a little. "Tonight was great.  I had a really nice time." 

Steve smiles. “I’m glad.  I’d like to take you out tomorrow, if you’re free.” 

"I’ll be free," Tony answers quickly. "What did you have in mind?" 

"How does a picnic in the park sound?" 

"Incredible cliche." 

"You like it anyway." 

"Shut up," Tony says, but doesn’t deny it.  Steve thinks it’s okay because the red blooming across Tony’s face speaks for itself. 


	2. Talk To Me and Let Me Listen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally a response to [this](http://brandnewfashion.tumblr.com/post/107177973033/musicalluna-replied-to-your-post-give-me) prompt from musicalluna: **Steve falls asleep in the workshop when he’s stressed out.**
> 
> Title taken from the play by Tennessee Williams play. :)

Steve’s job is by no means an easy one.  Protecting the security of the free world isn’t exactly a 9 to 5 job, and as rewarding as it can be at the end of the day, it’s a constant weight on Steve’s shoulders.  

On particularly stressful days, Steve likes to go downstairs to Tony’s workshop. 

Some days, Tony will be so immersed in his work that the only acknowledgement Steve will get is a ‘hello’ and (maybe) a quick peck on the cheek before the genius is back to coding or wiring or… whatever it is he does.  But Steve just sprawls on top of the worn leather couch in the corner of the room and listens to the sounds of the workshop until they lull him to sleep, like the steady hum of the machinery in the background, or the subtle beeping coming from Dummy’s charging station. 

His favorite sound, however, is Tony’s running dialogue as he works: the way he mutters numbers and equations under his breath, the excited tone in his voice when he figures out a solution, the occasional curse when something doesn’t go quite the way he planned.  Steve especially loves listening to Tony’s conversations with JARVIS and his bots—Steve loves how little the man has to say to get his point across to his companions. 

In the workshop, Tony is always in his element.  It’s where Tony gets his best ideas, and where Tony creates his most brilliant inventions. 

The workshop is where Steve sees Tony at his happiest, and his most somber.  It’s where Tony feels the most accomplished, but at times, dejected.  It’s where Tony can be the most vulnerable—the most  _open_ and  _raw_.  The workshop is made up of the innermost workings of Tony’s mind.

It’s where they throw popcorn at each other while watching old movies, and where Tony teaches Steve about the inner-workings of his armor.

The workshop is where Steve finds Tony after their latest fights to reprimand him for his recklessness, before noticing the bruises on Tony’s body and kissing them better. 

The workshop is where they fell in love, and Steve wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Today’s mission had been a relative success, but there were still some casualties—six, to be precise, and Steve thinks it’s six too many.  He takes the elevator down to Tony’s workshop, keys in his personal code, and trudges through the sliding glass door. 

Tony’s situated at his work bench, fine tuning something in one of the gauntlets of the Mark XLV.  His hair is in disarray, there’s a band-aid on cheek, and a dark smudge on his right arm.  The man looks up and peers at Steve through his safety goggles (which are so scratched that Steve’s surprised the man can see through them at all anymore) and he smiles.  Knowing the smile is directed at him— _reserved for him_ \--makes Steve feel lighter than air, like all of the tension was never there.

Tony puts his soldering iron down, strips off his gloves and goggles, and makes his way over to Steve.  He wraps his arms around the blond’s torso, and Steve buries his face into the crook of Tony’s neck, inhaling the scent of metal and a hint of ivory soap.

“Bad day?” Tony murmurs, rubbing Steve’s back.

Steve nods. 

Tony moves away to place a kiss on Steve’s forehead before taking his hand and leading him to the couch—it’s a much more worn now than it was when Steve first started venturing into Tony’s space.  

Tony pulls Steve down and situates them so Steve’s head is resting on his lap.

“Wanna talk about it?” Tony asks, carding his fingers through Steve’s hair. Steve’s gotten into the habit of leaving it a little longer—Tony had mentioned once or twice how much he liked it that way.  

Steve shakes his head.

Tony’s fingers pause momentarily. “Do you want me to talk about something else, then?”

Steve closes his eyes and exhales. “Tell me about your day.”

So Tony talks about what he did after Steve left for work.  He talks about what he had for breakfast (oatmeal and berries), and an article in a scientific magazine that he, Bruce and Hank had gotten into a heated debate over.  He talks about his plans for a new suit of armor, the upgrades he made to the quinjet, and the forty-five minutes he spent on his hands and knees picking up the hundreds of nuts and bolts that Dummy dropped on the floor.

Tony talks about how much he thought of Steve throughout the day (all day) and how much he misses him when they’re apart (a _lot_ ).  Tony talks about how much he looks forward to having Steve in his arms at the end of every day.

Steve doesn’t know when he falls asleep, but he when he wakes, the workshop is dark.  Tony’s on top of him, their bodies a tangled mess of limbs, and Steve can feel Tony’s steady breathing against his collar bone.

“Go back t’sleep,” Tony mumbles, burying his face into Steve’s neck.

Steve does.


	3. Cupcakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally a [prompt](http://brandnewfashion.tumblr.com/post/87552081958/if-youre-still-taking-prompts-how-about) from onemuseleft/nightwalker: **How about something stupid and cute? Like Steve discovering that Tony Stark has a critical weakness for fancy cupcakes.**

See, it’s a well-known fact that Tony Stark has a sweet tooth.

Steve had learned very early on that the three most efficient ways of getting Tony to do pretty much  _anything_  are sex, coffee, and dessert.

Between breakfasts consisting of waffles or pancakes slathered in copious amounts of syrup, and doughnuts for lunch, and dinners always followed by some sort of dessert (and usually post-dessert  _dessert_ ), Steve is rather dumbfounded that the man hasn’t exhibited signs of diabetes yet.

A few days after taking up residency at the tower, Steve had found a box of doughnuts in the cabinet beneath the sink. A week after that, he found candy wrappers in between the couch cushions, and half of a chocolate cake with his name on it (literally, on a post-it in obnoxious lettering) in the fridge. The blond was also surprised to find out that Tony liked his coffee light and sweet, and not black as he had originally thought.

The day Steve actually became legitimately concerned for the man’s health was after Dr. Doom had tried the whole world domination thing again. The army of Doombots was three times the size as usual, and even with the help of the Fantastic Four, it took a good seven hours to finally get rid of every single one of them.

When the team re-convened in the middle of all of the wreckage, Tony had opened up a compartment in his armor and pulled out a bag of licorice.

_Licorice._

Tony Stark had a hidden compartment in his advanced, weaponized suit of armor for  _snacks_.

So Steve may have staged a little intervention later that night, politely requesting that Tony go see a doctor to make sure that the excessive amounts of sugar weren’t affecting his body. Tony agreed, but not without a dramatic sigh and roll of his eyes. The next afternoon, he had walked into the kitchen with a very smug look on his face, and slapped a piece of paper in front of Steve declaring that he had a clean bill of health.

However, after that stunt, Steve had started seeing less sugary items hidden around the the tower, and they were practically nonexistent after he and Tony started dating. Yes, Tony still ate sweets like it was his job, but the fact he felt less compelled to hoard them put Steve a little more at ease.

It wasn’t until three months into dating that Steve realized Tony’s true weakness.

Cupcakes.

Fancy, intricately decorated, over-frosted and overpriced  _cupcakes_.

Tony just couldn’t resist walking into a store and buying a dozen red velvet cupcakes from Sprinkles, or a box of vanilla buttercreams from Magnolia Bakery. Hell, he had even sent Happy on the equivalent of late-night Tampax runs for some of the sugary, baked goods.

Steve hasn’t minded though, even if it was a little ridiculous. After all, every one had a weird quirk or two.

But even supersoldiers eventually run out of patience, and Steve finally draws the line after Tony momentarily leaves the room after a couple of rounds in the sack, only to come back with a half-full box of double-chocolate cupcakes.

"If you had to choose between me or cupcakes, what would you choose?" Steve asks, watching Tony remove the paper liner of one of the baked goods.

Tony pouts. “That isn’t fair, Steve. That’s like asking me who my favorite child is.”

Steve looks unimpressed. “You’re seriously telling me that you can’t choose between your loving, doting, supersoldier boyfriend, or a mound of baked flour and sugar?”

"They’re  _double chocolate_ ,” Tony responds, as if that makes all the difference.  He breaks off the bottom of the cupcake and places it on top of the frosting, like a sandwich, and then proceeds to eat half of the concoction in one bite.

Steve wrinkles his nose. “You’re like a four-year-old.”

"That would make you the creeper of the century then, wouldn’t it?" Tony says, licking frosting off of his fingers. He goes to finish off the rest of the cupcake but freezes when an idea strikes him. "What about my super hot and super dorky boyfriend covered in chocolate frosting?" he asks. "Is that an option?"

Steve doesn’t even have a chance to respond before Tony smears the remains of the cupcake all over his face and body.

"Was that really necessary?" Steve says, looking down at the mess on his chest. 

Tony eyes him and bites his lip. “Mmm very.”

"You’re ridiculous."

Tony straddles the other man’s lap and licks a stripe of frosting off of his cheek. “And you are absolutely delicious.”

"Ridiculous," Steve repeats, trying to wipe off some of the frosting on his face.

"You love it," Tony counters, taking Steve’s hand and sucking the frosting off of his fingers. "And I love you," he adds, kissing his nose.

"But not as much as you love cupcakes," Steve remarks as he watches his boyfriend lick him clean.

"I think could be swayed."


	4. Try

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Original [prompt](http://brandnewfashion.tumblr.com/post/113662335863/inexperienced-tony-goes-on-a-date-with-somebody) from musicalluna: **inexperienced tony goes on a date with somebody who gets real handsy and winds up fleeing home, where he runs into steve while he's in the middle of freaking out. steve is like WHOA WTF NEED TO CUT A BITCH and assures tony that no there is no reason why he should put up with that and that he was totally right to ditch them**

It isn’t a secret that Tony is not very experienced when it comes to dating.

Well… it isn’t a secret to his  _friends_ , so in reality, it’s actually a  _huge_ secret.

It isn’t something that Tony is proud, nor ashamed, of.   It was merely a fact: just a statement of truth.  

In the twenty-eight plus years that Tony has been living on Earth, he had had one serious relationship with a business associate shortly after taking over Stark Industries, but that had crashed and burned within six months.

Literally.

The woman had gotten so upset with Tony’s inability to spare time for her that she had stolen his car and crashed it into a tree.

Since then, he’s been on dates… Okay, a  _lot_ of dates (thanks to Rhodey and Pepper) but none of them are very successful.

They usually consist of dinner or a movie, and end with the girl (or guy) asking to go back to Tony’s place.

And Tony never really knows what to do after that.

No, he isn’t a virgin by any means, but he does like to take things slow.  The others call him ‘old fashioned,’ but the thing is, he’s just never been comfortable having sex with someone he barely knows.

So out of the dozens and dozens of first dates, there are maybe a handful of second and third dates, and of  _course_ , the paparazzi know exactly when Tony is out and about, so in the past few years, he garners this reputation as a  _playboy_  of all things.

He actually finds it pretty hilarious, except on nights like tonight where he finds himself being kissed by yet another young model or singer or rising businessman. 

This guy smells like expensive cigars and cologne, and the coffee they’ve been drinking hasn’t done much to mask the taste of alcohol on his tongue.  

Tony pulls away and puts some distance between them.

“What’s wrong?”

“I… I’m sorry, Ty.”  He really is, because Ty is charming and very handsome, and Tony is very much attracted to him, but: “I just… I don’t think I’m up for anything more tonight.”

Ty looks at him incredulously. “Really?  Tony  _Stark_  isn’t up for a little romp in the sack?”

The way he says Tony’s name makes Tony’s stomach churn.

“I’m having a good time just talking like this,” Tony says, “I don’t see why we have to—”

“I bought you flowers, took you to dinner, took you  _dancing_ ,” Ty snarls, “and  _this_ is the thanks I get?”

“I didn’t ask you to do any of those things,” Tony shoots back.

“Then shouldn’t you be thanking me for being such a thoughtful and considerate date?” Ty backs him up against the kitchen counter and places his hands on Tony’s hips. “C’mon, baby.  It’ll be fun. I’ll show you a great time—”

“ _No_ , Ty—”

“I promise it’ll be worth it,” Ty says before leaning in for a kiss.  

Tony moves his head to avoid it, but Ty just brushes his lips against Tony’s neck instead.  “Ty, please, I really don’t want to—”

“C’mon, Tony.  You’ll have a—”

_“I believe the man said ‘no.’”_

Both of them look up and see a very tense Steve standing at the other side of the kitchen.  Ty immediately backs off, but his hands don’t leave Tony’s body.

“It isn’t very polite to interrupt other people’s dates,” Ty snaps.

“It isn’t very polite to force others into do something they don’t want to,” Steve retorts, and his ensuing glare is enough to make Ty release his grip on Tony’s hips.

Ty turns back to look at Tony. “Well?  Are you gonna tell your friend to leave us alone?”

Tony swallows. “I… I think you should go, Ty.”

It’s not the response Ty was expecting, if the scandalized look on his face is anything to go by.

“If I walk out that door, Tony, I’m not coming back.”

Tony looks the man in the eye. “Just go, Ty.”

Ty grits his teeth, grabs his jacket and storms towards the waiting elevator.

“Are you okay?” Steve asks, his voice much softer than before.  He moves towards Tony, but stops a few feet away.

Tony nods. “Thank you.”

“Thank JARVIS.” Steve rests his hip against the counter.  “He’s the one who alerted me.  I just did what any decent person would do.”

Well, that explained the elevator, then.

“Do you want some coffee?” Tony offers lamely. “I mean, if you aren’t busy or…”

“Sure.”  Steve smiles at him, and Tony gets that familiar fluttery feeling in his chest again.

He ducks his head and moves toward the cupboard to grab a mug, but Steve stops him.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” Steve says. “Why don’t you sit down?  I’ll fix you up a new cup, too.”

“Um… thanks.  Milk and—”

“Two sugars, right?” Steve finishes for him, and Tony can only nod as he seats himself at the table.

They don’t say anything as Steve fixes their coffee—the only sound in the room being the occasional  _clink_  of the spoon against the mug as Steve stirs in the milk and sugar.  It probably should’ve been awkward, but Tony’s glad to find that it isn’t in the slightest.

Tony graciously accepts the mug that Steve offers to him.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“No, I mean, for… what you did earlier,” Tony clarifies. “I know you think it’s nothing, but I really do appreciate it.”

“You know you can always come to me if you need anything, Tony,” Steve responds, his voice uncharacteristically shaky.

Tony looks over and sees that Steve’s entire body is practically vibrating with tension. “Are you all right, Steve?”

“No, I’m not.  Not at all.” Steve whips around in his chair so quickly he almost knocks his mug off the counter. “No one should ever treat you like that, Tony.”

Tony has absolutely no idea what he’s supposed to say to that.

“I know that you and I approach dating…  _differently_ ,” Steve continues, “but if you ever tell me ‘no’—if  _anyone_  ever tells me ‘no’—I would stop.  No one should have to put up with that.  You don’t deserve that.”

“What do you think I deserve, then?” Tony inquires.  He isn’t sure where he gets this sudden bout of confidence, but his date’s gone to hell, so he figures he doesn’t have anything to lose.

“More than whatever that jackass was willing to give you,” Steve mutters under his breath, which Tony finds absolutely endearing.

Then again, Steve’s could probably make something like stealing candy from babies look adorable.  

Tony’s so head over heels for the man, it’s pathetic.

“You’ll find someone,” Steve says with a sad smile, “Someone who’ll give you everything you want and treat you the way you should be treated.  Someone—”

“Like you?”

And just like that, he’s done it.  He’s been told it would feel like having a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, but he just feels like he’s going to go into cardiac arrest at any moment.  

“Tony, I’m not…” Steve gets up from his seat. “I can’t.  I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean you ‘ _can’t_ ’?” Tony asks.

“God knows I want to give you what you want, Tony, but you should be with someone who actually deserves you—”

Tony sputters. “ _You_  don’t deserve  _me_?  Steve, you’re  _Captain America_.  You are literally the embodiment of everything good, and you don’t think you  _deserve_  me?”

“Look,” Steve starts, “Up until a few months ago, I didn’t think I’d ever fall in lo—feel this way,” he corrects himself, but it’s too late, because Tony’s already heard it.  “I was… content with my relationships, because they helped fill the void—if only temporarily.  But  _you_ , you have these…  _ideals_ , and you want stability, and you shouldn’t have to deal with my past.”

“You love me,” Tony says.

“That… that’s not the point—”  

Once again, Tony isn’t sure what it is that comes over him, but he pulls Steve down by the collar of his shirt and kisses him.  

“You told me you  _love_ me,” Tony says when they pull apart a moment later. “You can’t expect me to not have a reaction.”

Steve takes both of Tony’s hands in his own. “To be fair, I wasn’t planning on telling you.”  

“I love you, too, by the way.”

“I figured as much,” Steve says, leaning forward and pressing their foreheads together. “I’m not good at this.”

“I’m not asking for forever,” Tony says. “Just promise me you’ll try.”

“I can do that,” he replies, before capturing Tony’s lips in a kiss.


End file.
